Modded Ft Duster (Piper Pawnee)

[ThatsALotOfPlanes]

Hey guys!

I've always loved the Piper Pawnee, from the bright yellow ag sprayers, to the white towplanes used by my local gliderport. I decided to take the plans for the FT Duster and modify them a little bit to make a representation of the Piper Pawnee. I changed the shape of the H-stab, V-stab, and wingtips according to pictures and 3 views. I also changed the side profile shape of the cockpit/canopy structure, and slanted the top of the fuselage in front of the canopy downwards to match the Pawnee's shape.

I have the fuselage pretty much finished, I just need to install servos and finalize the hatch. I think it's turning out really well so far, I like the downwards-slanted nose, it adds a lot to the scale appearance.



I'll throw the plans up once I've finished the build. Almost everything is the exact same as the stock Duster build wise, only the top plate of the fuselage in front of the canopy needs to be folded downwards a little bit, and the front turtle deck is slightly different.

Cheers and thanks for looking!

 

[Phin G]

Hey guys!

I've always loved the Piper Pawnee, from the bright yellow ag sprayers, to the white towplanes used by my local gliderport. I decided to take the plans for the FT Duster and modify them a little bit to make a representation of the Piper Pawnee. I changed the shape of the H-stab, V-stab, and wingtips according to pictures and 3 views. I also changed the side profile shape of the cockpit/canopy structure, and slanted the top of the fuselage in front of the canopy downwards to match the Pawnee's shape.

I have the fuselage pretty much finished, I just need to install servos and finalize the hatch. I think it's turning out really well so far, I like the downwards-slanted nose, it adds a lot to the scale appearance.

View attachment 195044 View attachment 195045 View attachment 195046 View attachment 195047

I'll throw the plans up once I've finished the build. Almost everything is the exact same as the stock Duster build wise, only the top plate of the fuselage in front of the canopy needs to be folded downwards a little bit, and the front turtle deck is slightly different.

Cheers and thanks for looking!

Looks amazing i have fallen in love for them. They have a huge dihedral wing so the spars will be at a bigger angle then the ft duster. Good luck with the rest of the build.

 

[The Hangar]

Hey guys!

I've always loved the Piper Pawnee, from the bright yellow ag sprayers, to the white towplanes used by my local gliderport. I decided to take the plans for the FT Duster and modify them a little bit to make a representation of the Piper Pawnee. I changed the shape of the H-stab, V-stab, and wingtips according to pictures and 3 views. I also changed the side profile shape of the cockpit/canopy structure, and slanted the top of the fuselage in front of the canopy downwards to match the Pawnee's shape.

I have the fuselage pretty much finished, I just need to install servos and finalize the hatch. I think it's turning out really well so far, I like the downwards-slanted nose, it adds a lot to the scale appearance.

View attachment 195044 View attachment 195045 View attachment 195046 View attachment 195047

I'll throw the plans up once I've finished the build. Almost everything is the exact same as the stock Duster build wise, only the top plate of the fuselage in front of the canopy needs to be folded downwards a little bit, and the front turtle deck is slightly different.

Cheers and thanks for looking!

I’m also a big Pawnee fan, so I’m eager to see how yours turns out. Are you stretching the wings at all?

 

[ThatsALotOfPlanes]

They have a huge dihedral wing so the spars will be at a bigger angle then the ft duster.

I hadn't thought about the dihedral yet, I guess the Duster has very litte. Definitely a good scale detail to fix!

Are you stretching the wings at all?

I didn't stretch the wings, as I'm trying to keep everything as close to the original Duster plans as possible. I did round the wingtips however, which added about 9 inches to the wingspan. The wings are still stubbier than the real Pawnee, but it looks good enough. I will have to split the wing into two pieces because it won't fit on a single sheet of foam anymore.

 

[mdcerdan]

When I did my Pawnee I made the wings with 8° dihedral, one degree more than scale. It flies without ailerons.

 

[ThatsALotOfPlanes]

Finished up the airframe! Electronics are scheduled for tomorrow and maiden this weekend! Electronics work includes moving the fuselage servos so they don't block the power pod

Here's a fun comparison collage:

 

[The Hangar]

Finished up the airframe! Electronics are scheduled for tomorrow and maiden this weekend! Electronics work includes moving the fuselage servos so they don't block the power pod

Here's a fun comparison collage:

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Beautiful work! The 9 inches added to the WS sure makes a difference - the stock duster wings are so stubby!

 

[mdcerdan]

Excelent build! I love it. What paint scheme are you going to do?

 

[ThatsALotOfPlanes]

Beautiful work! The 9 inches added to the WS sure makes a difference - the stock duster wings are so stubby!

Excelent build! I love it. What paint scheme are you going to do?

Thank y'all!

The wings are still a little stubby, I didn't change the chord of the wing at all. Then again the whole plane looks a little cartoonish anyways

My plan for the scheme is to replicate one of the towplanes at my local gliderport and have a little photoshoot. I'll have to do a square wingtip version for the exact plane I want to dress it up as, but there is a round wingtip Pawnee they bring out on really busy days that I can also paint it as.

N6494Z, known as Pawnee 1:


N4386Y, known as Pawnee 3:

 

[ThatsALotOfPlanes]

Plans attached to this post!

The differences between the stock Duster and my version are:
- the top fuselage plate folds downwards to match the side plates in front of the canopy
- the front turtledeck is slightly different (I don't have that on the plans because I used trial and error in my build to make my turtledeck)
- the wing is split into two halves and the spars are based off the FT Spitfire spars
- the spar stops short of the end of the bottom wing plate so instead of the stock aileron servo placement, you can put servos at the end of the spar

Aside from these small differences, you can follow the FT Duster build for everything. Just make sure to print the plans poster style!